Twelve local students will move on to the Regional Elementary School Science Fair in Wilmington next month.

The projects were selected during the Onslow County Schools Elementary Science Fair Thursday night, during which 84 students from 12 schools presented 78 projects to judges, friends and family.

Among them was Erin Frisch, 9, a fourth grade student at Morton Elementary School, who simulated driving using her Wii game console for her project “Distracted Driving.”

“I wanted to help save lives with these findings so there’d be less crashes,” she said.

Erin tested several different distractions but determined that texting while driving was the most distracting.

“I’m very, very excited,” she said.

Matthew Shirley, 10, a fourth grader at Dixon Elementary School, said he wanted to learn more about how long it took water to freeze. For example, in his project “Freezing Rates of Water”, he added salt and sugar to water and compared rates.

“If you don’t add anything to the water, it’ll freeze quicker,” he said after being presented with his trophy.

Jasmine Toudle, 11, a fifth grade student at Southwest Elementary, will also be moving forward with her project “Which is Stronger?”

Jasmine said she was excited to be selected but didn’t see it coming.

“I was just happy that I was already here,” she said of the system-wide competition.

Michele Halley, director of professional development and academic enrichment for Onslow County Schools, said that the projects were judged on research, originality, creativity, content and scientific method during the fourth annual science fair.

“That’s the big thing we’re looking for: Can the child do research and when they do can they make sense of it?” she said.

Halley said that by participating in the science fair, the children learn about researching, publishing and reporting.

“These are all 21st century skills that are needed for students to be successful in today’s global environment,” she said.

And, according to the students, they also had some fun with the projects.

Jackson Burns, 10, who is also in fifth grade at Dixon Elementary, looked at how best to pop popcorn. He compared the number of kernels left unpopped after cooking popcorn that was stored in the refrigerator, in the freezer or in the pantry. Jackson found that popcorn stored in the refrigerator for eight hours before popping leaves the least amount unpopped.

He said he picked his project for a simple reason.

“I like popcorn and I like to eat popcorn,” he explained.

On the move

Twelve students were selected to move on to the regional elementary school science fair Feb. 8 at UNC-Wilmington. They and their projects are:

-Nia Cruz for Magnificent Electromagnets

-Jalen Lucas for Ripening Bananas

-Lilly Britt for Which Sunscreen Works the Best

-Brianna Ryan for What Makes a Raw Egg’s Eggshell Come Off Best

-Matthew Shirley for Freezing Rates of Water

-Jazlyn Cuadro for Cleaning Up Oil Spills

-Erin Frisch for Distracted Driving

-Jill McBeth and Onna Thackston for A Penny for Your Hot Sauce

-Caroline Cubas for Preservatives

-Riley Stone for Be Safe and Flip the Switch

-Adam Vcarner for Boom Goes the Hair Spray

-Jasmine Toudle for Which is Stronger?

Amanda Hickey is the government reporter at The Daily News. She can be reached at amanda.hickey@jdnews.com.